A Bengaluru court on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of a college student who has been accused of sedition for saying “Pakistan Zindabad” at the beginning of a speech during a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The court stated that she “may abscond” if released.
The court observed that if granted bail, Amulya Leona Noronha (19) a student of journalism and English at a Bengaluru college, “may involve in similar offence which affects peace at large”.
The police had booked Amulya under charges of sedition and promoting enmity between groups, although her friends claimed she was trying to convey a message of universal humanity by chanting zindabad in the name of all nations, including Pakistan and India.
Rejecting her bail plea, 60th additional city civil and sessions judge Vidyadhar Shirahatti said in his order, “If the petitioner is granted bail, she may abscond. Therefore, the bail petition of the petitioner is liable to be rejected.”
Amulya’s bail plea was delayed on account of the lockdown, which came into force on March 25 — around the time hearings were due to begin in a lower court. Bengaluru police did not file a charge sheet against the student during the lockdown.
For the uninitiated, Amulya, known for her oratory, and often invited at protests against the CAA, NRC and NPR, was arrested on the evening of February 20.
Bengaluru girl Amulya a prolific anti-establishment activist
